MEMBER NEWS
May 15, 2023
Congrats to all SAPS members who were involved in Theatre Odyssey's 10-Minute Play Festival as the production was excellent!
From Steve Black:
The first SQUEAKY WHEEL fringe festival will be held at the Cook Theatre (Asolo Performing Arts Center) June 8 - 11, 2023. Over the four days, 10 innovative shows will be presented by artists whose original work falls under the guidelines of 'fringe theatre'. For more information and a schedule of the 20+ performances, go to www.squeakywheeltheatre.org.
May 1, 2023
Connie Schindewolf's play, ANCESTRY, has been accepted for publication in Smith & Kraus' BEST 10-MINUTE PLAYS OF 2022.
April 20, 2023
Cece Dwyer's full-length play, LATERAL MOVES,
winner of this year's New Play Fest at The Players Centre,
will be presented July 21 and July 22 @ 7:30 and July 23 @ 2:00
Auditions will be held on Saturday, April 29 from 5pm to 7pm @
1400 Blvd of the Arts, Suite 200, Sarasota FL 34234.
April 17, 2023
Lynne Doyle stars in Driving Miss Daisy at the Manatee Players through April 23rd at the Manatee Performing Arts Center in Bradenton.
Sarasota Jewish Theatre is producing, We All Fall Down, at the Players Centre (next to Connors Steak House) through April 23rd. Both Aden Russell and James Kassees are in this production.
April 5, 2003
Gulfport Community Playhouse will produce Ron Pantello's “Dog House” this summer along with ten other plays.
Performance dates July 13-23 Catherine Hickman Theater of Gulfport
Connie Schindewolf’s monologue, The Frizzies, was selected by Literature Today to be published in their April Issue, themed “Relationships”.
March 21, 2023
Many of you attended the reading of Jason Cannon's play, CLOWNS LIKE ME, about the life of Scott Ehrenpreis. We asked to be informed of further progress of the play and here it is:
clownslikeme.com,
David Coe, Alice Cotman and Dianne Brin are the featured Arts Alliance Playreaders taking on character roles in the theatrical staged reading of “The Personal Librarian,” the One Book One Community Book of 2023 Sarasota County Libraries.
The story is of Belle da Costa Greene who was hired by JP Morgan for his Pierpont Morgan Library. Though she was African American, her secret was that she was passing for white.
3/21 North Port Library at 2pm
3/28 Gulf Gate Library at 2pm
3/31 Selby Library at 3pm
4/13 Elsie Quirk Library, Englewood, 2pm
Connie Schindewolf's play, RABBIT EARS, will be produced April 14th-23rd by the Seaside Players' Sea Shorts in Lauderale-By-The-Sea.
Connie Schindewolf’s play, Memory Card, has been selected by Arts and Alliance Play Readers to be read at Grand Bay Condominiums March 8th. Also selected were The Hook Up and Dog House by Ron Pantello, Awakenings by David Coe, and
Coming to Town by Keith Whalen.
Mike Kozubek’s play, Geezers will be included in North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe’s Ten Minute Madness festival over three weekends in March.
Gail Knowles’ play, A Place For Mom, has been selected by Regency House as one of the plays they will be reading at their event in March.
Connie Schindewolf’s play, Paperboy, has been selected for a reading in March by Regency Players (Martin Tucker’s Condo Complex).
DoWalker has been cast in Elephant Man at Tampa Rep, February 2-119.
Jan Wallace and Gina Scarda are appearing in Cemetery Club at Venice Little Theater, January 20- February 12.
Connie Schindewolf’s play, Leaving Nic is a finalist for Actors Theatre Playhouse for a festival in June in New Hampshire.
Dianne Brin:
The Personal Librarian: A stage reading adapted and directed by Dianne Brin
Library dates:,
January 26, Venice Library 1 pm
February 2, Fruitville Library, 2 pm
February 21, Shannon Staub, 1 pm
Ron Pantello:
"Sons, Mothers and Others" will be read:
1. Palmetto Library 1/28
2. Cascades Condo 3/5
3. Heritage Oaks 3/20
JENNY ALDRICH and DON WALKER:
Jenny and Don were both in “Ruby” at West Coast Black Theatre until it closed down due to Covid. Don played Morrie in “Tuesdays With Morrie” at the Sarasota Jewish Theatre, April 6th-10th. Jenny has been busy with her shows, mostly “Georgia O’Keefe: A Dramatic Portrait” and “Maria Selby” from Fruitville library to Bonita Springs. She will also be in Ron Pantello’s play, “Damaged Goods” June 24th thru 26th, staged by the Players Theatre.
STEVE BLACK:
Steve has been busy working inside and outside of SAPS. He was added to the company of “To Kill a Mockingbird” at Venice Theatre where he plays the Sherriff, Heck Tate. He is also directing two of Theatre Odyssey’s ten-minute plays for their June Festival, one by SAPS writer, Keith Whalen, and has cast SAPS actress, Jan Wallace in the other.
Next up will be a directing position with The Players Centre where he will be at the helm of Ron Pantello’s “Damaged Goods” which opens the end of June. In July, Steve will cast Sarah Ruhl’s “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” at Lemon Bay Playhouse.
DIANNE BRIN:
Dianne Brin, on behalf of Asolo Theatre Guild Play Readers, has developed the 2022 One Book One Community stage reading of “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind” for the Sarasota County Library System. Libraries included were Fruitville, Venice, Jacaranda, Gulfgate and the final scheduled reading on 4/6 was at Selby Library. Next scheduled reading of “Sons, Mothers and Others” by Ron Pantello and directed by Dianne will be 5/5 at Fountains of Hope. Asolo Rep Theatre Guild Play Readers will be the featured performers at Bird Key Yacht Club on 4/13. The reading, “Francis Albert” by Frank Gotz features SAPs actors Alan Brasington, David Meyersburg, Susan Mauntal, David Coe and Dianne Brin.
LYNNE DOYLE:
Lynne is involved in Venice Theatre’s “To Kill a Mocking” through May 1st. The next day she begins rehearsals for “Rabbit Hole” which she was in back in 2020 but had to be cancelled after one performance due to the pandemic. The Players is launching it again, running June 9-19.
JAMES KASSEES:
James is happy to finally get back in a theatre with a live audience—he’s been cast in Keith Whalen's “Youth For Dark” in Theatre Odyssey's 10-Minute Play Festival. Steve Black is directing. At the end of January he did a staged reading of “Lunch With Mrs. Baskin” by Sam Bobrick with Theatre of the Mind at Art Center Sarasota. Janet Davies directed. The show was reprised at a cast member’s community hall on April 3.
GEORGE LOUKIDES:
George’s play, “Mona Lisa And The Ethiopian Cookbook”, after a two-year delay due to Covid, was presented by The Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble, Brentwood, CA. on March 25 and 26, 2022.
LARRY PARR:
Larry was commissioned by Nate Jacobs, Artistic Director of Westcoast Black Theatre, to write a musical biography of Fats Waller. He is working with Florida Studio Theatre in developing a musical children’s play based on “The Most-Hated Man”, both commissioned by Florida Studio Theatre. The play about Harry T. Moore will be read at SAPS on May 19th.
RON PANTELLO:
Ron’s short play “Cat and Dog Part Deux” will be produced in San Diego at the Ten Minute Madness Festival. “Bad Daughter” will be part of the North Park Play Festival in San Diego. “Damaged Goods”, winner of the Players 2019 New Play Festival, will be produced by them June 24th, 25th, and 26th.
CONNIE SCHINDEWOLF:
Connie was selected to be on the Playwrights Panel at the Venice Book Fair March 25th, along with Andy Steadman from the Hermitage Artist Retreat and Preston Boyd. “Leaving Nic” and “Mary’s Baptism” were both semi-finalists in the MADLAB’S Theatre Roulette, which means they were in the top 100 of over 1,000 entries. Lauderdale By The Sea’s Seaside Players has chosen “Leaving Nic” to be a part of their Sea Shorts from June 3rd-12th. Connie’s play “Ancestry” will be produced as part of Theatre Odyssey’s ten-minute festival June 9th-12 in Asolo’s Cook Theatre.